Part of running a company that sells a hangover remedy (Sobur, in case you’re new here) is keeping an eye on the competition.
There’s several products out there—and we’ve tried them all—but the real competition for Sobur is not commercial products, its the old wives tales and home remedies that people believe will cure their hangover woes.
If you head outside of your home country, you’ll find some pretty freaky supposed hangover aids out there, and today I’m going to show you 8 different cures from the farthest corners of the world.
Disclaimer: Some of these cures might seem a little gross, so stop reading here if you have a weak stomach!
1. Balut From The Philippines
Balut is perhaps the Philippines most notorious street food. It’s an duck egg that’s intentionally unpasteurized to create a fertilized embryo inside it. You can get a near fully formed chick if you’re lucky – complete with beak, feathers and other features you’ll normally associate with a duck.
Well, a duck to be anyway, since it’s been boiled, it’s never going to hatch, if that makes you feel any better :-s
Experts say that taking in protein is a perfect way to soothe a hangover, but this cure might be best for those who have stronger stomachs!
2. Dried Bull Testicle From Sicily
The iron stomached natives of Sicily, Italy, swear by a bit of dried bull penis as the perfect way to cure a hangover….
…Yummy!
3. Irn Bru From Scotland
Made from Girders, Irn-Bru is slated by the Scots to be a cracking hangover cure. Irn-Bru is a Scottish tradition as loved as Rabbie Burns and deep fried everything. It has a luminous tinge to it and a taste that leaves its mark from the first sip. Irn-Bru sits at the top of sales lists of soft drinks in Scotland, one of the few countries where another drink outsells Coca Cola.
Irn-Bru’s manufacturers—Barr—guard the secret recipe under lock and key in an Edinburgh bank. Only 2 people in the world know the what its secret ingredient is, and Chairman Robin Barr is responsible for the adding of this mysterious substance.
4. Kaya Toast From Indonesia
Kaya Toast is a Singaporean & Indonesian hangover remedy. It is prepared with kaya (coconut jam), a topping of sugar, coconut milk and eggs, pandan, and sometimes margarine or butter.
Generally served on toast, and also on crackers. It is considered a breakfast staple and is sometimes dipped into soft-boiled egg.
5. Leche de Tigre From Peru
Leche de tigre, or Tigers Milk, is a Peruvian sauce that forms the base of a sauce used in the country’s most famous dish, Ceviche. The combination of lime juice, lemon juice, fish stock, fish scrap, garlic, and ginger is thought to ease that throbbing pain in your head and also serve as an aphrodisiac.
6. Menudo From Mexico
Menudo is a Mexican soup made with beef stomach (tripe and hominy) in a clear broth or red chili base. It’s not that bad, as long as you like/don’t mind Tripe (cow stomach)! For those who don’t, eating tripe while hungover might make you even more sick!
Menudo is rich with fats which coat the stomach and the temperature of the soup and spiciness is said to “cleanse pours”.
7. Oregano Tea From Ecuador
Oregano tea is a herbal infusion made from fresh or dried oregano leaves — a concoction that typically is referred to as “tisane” as opposed to “tea.” Oregano is a flavorful herb that has both culinary and medicinal value.
The Ecuadorians prefer this tea on the salty side, but a soothing regular cup of oregano has been a go-to hangover cure in the South American nation for centuries.
8. Umeboshi From Japan
While still green, apricot-like Japanese ume fruit are harvested and cured with sea salt for several months. The result: pickled, wrinkly, eye-wateringly-sour and salty mouthfuls about the size of large gumballs. Soaking umeboshi in hot water, or eating them with boiled rice, can temper the powerfully strong flavor.
Umeboshi have been a Japanese miracle cure for centuries, used by samurai and schoolchildren. The acids ostensibly improve liver function, aid digestion, and dispel fatigue. The pickled fruit is also rich in key electrolytes like sodium and potassium.
Since umeboshi are the Japanese equivalent of “an apple a day,” they’re sold as snacks all over the country. In the U.S. and UK, you’ll find them in Japanese grocery stores.
If a big night of drinking has left you feeling worse for wear, try out one of these international hangover cures and let us know how it goes.
Have You Heard About The “Miracle Hangover Cure” that Wired magazine, New Scientist and the NY Post are all talking about?
It’s called Dihydromyricetin and it will change the way you consume alcohol for ever! Sobur, our hangover cure supplement, uses dihydromyricetin (read more about Dihydromyricetin here) as our key ingredient, along with several other essential ingredients that replenish & restore key vitamins and minerals the body looses when you drink alcohol.